TB-screening affects all students
As of publication, 1,400 Meramec students are affected by a registration hold, which prevents them from registering for spring semester classes.
Students cannot sign up for spring classes until they complete the mandatory Tuberculosis screening said Kim Fitzgerald, Dean of Student Development and Enrollment Management.
About 940 Meramec students answered ‘Yes’ to one or more questions on the survey and therefore need to provide evidence of a skin test. Kim Fitzgerald said 700 students still need to show proof of the
skin test. This group of students is able to register for classes, but will be dropped from classes on Jan. 7 if proof has not been provided.
The survey contains six questions regarding contact of Tuberculosis and frequent visits to areas where prevalence of the disease is high.
Since the TB-screening is a state mandate, St. Louis Community College has to do the screening process, Fitzgerald said.
“This is a compliance issue for all colleges and universities, so we don’t have an option of saying that we’re not gonna do it,” Fitzgerald said. “This is something that we need to do and in truth we do it so that we can make sure that
our students are healthy.” Mimi Butler is a registered nurse at Visiting Nurse Association and is doing the skin test on campus. “It’s a very fast process,” Butler said. “We do ask some screening questions before we put the PPD [purified protein derivative] underneath the skin. If students have had what’s called BCG vaccine, then we do not put this on them. They will need to go either to their own physician or the county or city health department depending on where they live to get further screening.”
Students who answered ‘Yes’ to one or more questions on the survey, can get tested for free in the cafeteria.
